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Viso
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This morning's forecast was for a light
non-Mistral north-westerly and good thermals in the mountains, so I
rigged my LS6c and waited for developments. Launching started just after
midday but we could see from the number of gliders clinging on to l'Hongrie
that there was some difficulty in getting away. I ignored that and took a
launch at 1pm, prepared for a bit of a wait before I would be able to get
into the high mountains.
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En-route to the Queyras
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That 'bit of a wait' lasted three hours! I
tried the usual places for a big climb, such as Trainon, Gourras and Authon,
all without success. At one point I stepped into such huge sink on the face
of Auribeau that, if it had continued, would have left me looking at fields
in the Thoard valley.
At long last, I managed to work some cumulus near Bramefan
and sped out to the parcours by way of les Monges and Blayeul.
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Mindful of
the time, I decided to stick with the higher cloudbases over the Queyras
rather than visit the honeypot that is the glacier blanc. I took a route to
the south of the Embrun-St Crepin valley, onto the east side of the col de
Vars and onwards to the high mountains around the lac des neuf couleurs.
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Italian Plain
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Cloudbase was about 11,000ft and I could see
a street of cumulus heading direct to Mont Viso, so I headed eastwards along
the high ridge of mountain peaks separating France from Italy. As I
approached Viso, I saw the Italian plain covered in a white sheet of cloud,
pierced by higher hills in the distance. It was a remarkably impressive site
and a welcome bonus to my day, given the trials earlier in the flight.
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Mont Viso
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The cloudstreet continued all the way to Viso, its base climbing
to 12,500ft as I reached its peak. I ran along its face, my camera
collecting the panorama, and then turned back towards St Crepin. The return
was not at all painful - the wind was now a more predictable light westerly,
climbs were easy to find at this time of day and cloudbase remained high
enough for a direct glide home.
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Hometime
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